As he prepares to step away from Phoenix Employment Ministry, which he founded in 2002, Don Skinner isn’t thinking too much about employment.

Early in 2016, after he finishes serving as an adviser for Will Rikard who took over as executive director, Skinner and his wife, Beverly, plan to hit the road in their RV for a leisurely tour of the United States.

After that, who knows? Skinner said.

“It’s not critically necessary if I work, but it will help if I do. I always take the attitude that things will work out,” he said.

The longtime executive director for the Wilmington-based nonprofit learned through his work life that the unexpected can derail even the best-laid plan, and he understands when Phoenix clients are flummoxed at life’s disappointments.

For instance, his arrival on the scene in Wilmington was the result of what might be viewed as a bump in the road.

Having completed seminary at age 48 in 1986 and being ordained into the Presbyterian ministry, Skinner landed at a very small church in Rocky Point, where he remained for five years through often-difficult times. Ultimately, he said, he and the congregation worked through some fundamental problems, and he prepared to leave for another position.

“But the job I thought I had didn’t materialize,” he said. “It was a difficult time in my life, a trauma. I had no place to go, no money. I was unemployed for three months, so I have some familiarity with what it’s like for some folks we meet.”

Skinner said he took inventory of his and his wife’s situation: the rent was paid, and there was food in the pantry, he recalled.

Answering an ad in the paper landed him a part-time job at Good Shepherd Ministries in 1992, working with the homeless. It paid very little, but his wife also found work to supplement what he made.

“It was my first experience with the homeless, and I very much enjoyed it,” he said. “I looked forward to going to work, and I made friends I still see around town.”

The primary challenge was earning the trust of people whose hard-luck existence made them wary. It took him five years to establish his reputation and a network of relationships.

“Earning that trust was one of the most significant things I did,” Skinner said.

When the economy nosedived in 2002, Good Shepherd was forced to cut Skinner’s position, which had evolved into a full-time one.

“I didn’t have a clue what to do next,” he said. “I was terrified, but not as much as I had been when I left the church in Rocky Point.”

The problem, he realized, was that many of his skills as a pastor were not transferrable, and his work at Good Shepherd had not done much to expand his resume.

A colleague gave him an idea, pointing out that there were people in the Wilmington community looking for jobs as part of trying to rehabilitate themselves.

A shaky economy meant that jobs were tight, and funding to launch a new nonprofit was not readily available. With Good Shepherd’s blessing, however, Skinner took up the challenge, approaching individuals to raise money for his new endeavor.

“Those early supporters are still on board,” he said.

Phoenix first spread its wings in an office at the Murchison Building downtown.

“It was a wonderful place: attractive, upscale, a business facility,” he said. “It was not unusual for folks I was serving to think they might not have the right address, that they ‘didn’t belong there.’”

Skinner stipulated that anyone enrolling in the program must dress professionally, which meant that men had to wear a tie.

In his first group, all the men except one showed up in a tie. Skinner told him that he needed to go home and get one; the man refused and left. But much to Skinner’s surprise, the man was there the next day, dressed as requested.

“When I asked him why he hadn’t worn a tie in the first place, the man told me he didn’t feel worthy to wear a tie. I realized a lot of these people feel beaten down and unworthy. It was my job to make them feel they have value,” Skinner said.

That incident was a taste of what Skinner would encounter in the early days of his new ministry. At times he sat by himself in the Murchison Building office, wondering if anyone would come through the door. He persevered, believing he was doing what he had been called to do and adopted the mantra, “I will do the best I can with the day in front of me.”

Today, the organization is concerned about how to handle all the people who come through its doors.

Now housed in The Harrelson Center, many of whose other tenants collaborate with Phoenix Employment Ministries, the organization has a full-time staff of six and a yearly budget of about $400,000.

Each participant group numbers somewhere between five and 15, and roughly 55 percent of them complete the program and find work.

The intensive program not only aims to build skills and confidence but also to tackle the factors that have brought the clients to Phoenix: substance abuse, a criminal record or just plain bad luck. There is help with job-hunting and interviewing skills, resume writing and goal setting.  There is emphasis on how to keep a job: showing up on time, following instructions.

“We do in a short period of time what they need to find work,” he said, noting that Phoenix has connected 64 people with jobs so far in 2015 and about 750 since its beginnings.

His experience as a successful nonprofit leader has boosted Skinner’s natural optimism.

“I’ve fallen into some pretty exciting experiences,” he said. “We live in an extraordinary country. I don’t think I want another 9-to-5 job; I want the freedom to take off.

“Ideally, I’d like enough money to live on and cover an unforeseen disaster. I’d love to be on the water.”

Skinner also wants to continue helping people.

“It’s important to help people feel hopeful, that possibilities do exist,” he said. “If a person has hope, possibilities open up.”